Monographic – Structures (CD Album – Cold Transmission Music)

Background/Info:
Set up in 2014 the
Hamburger (Germany) based Monographic joined hands together with Cold
Transmission Music to unleash their second opus.

Content:
There clearly is a strong
80s flavor hanging over this work. Some of the guitar parts might remember The
Sisters Of Mercy, but Monographic is much more than simply a cold-wave
formation. You also will notice dark-rock elements and also dreamy passages.
The songs are mainly driven by guitar, bass and drums, but have been
accomplished with electronic arrangements. You might also notice tracks
featuring violin, viola and cello played by guest musicians.

+ + + :
When songs are mainly
composed by guitar you also need a talented guitarist and that’s exactly what
Monographic features. The guitar playing is one of the album’s main strengths.
I personally prefer the more into 80s songs like “Done It Again”, the somewhat
harder “Addicted”, the more dreamy-like “High Walks” and the great apotheosis
on the last song “Endless”. Next to the guitar I also like some of the
electronic arrangements –mainly on “Circle” and “Listen”.

– – – :
The more rock-accentuated
cuts aren’t my favorite ones. These cuts feel more ‘average’-like and I here
refer to a song like “Fade Away”.

Conclusion:
Monographic is not
exactly what I would call a classical cold-wave formation, but they built a
kind of sonic bridge between the 80s and more contemporary elements in rock
music.

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